Your Vino! Wine Team
John Allen
owner and proprietor
John Allen is owner and proprietor of Vino!-WineShop in downtown Spokane, and has been in the retail wine business for over 33 years. In addition to working in restaurants, wine specialty shops, and then establishing Vino! with his friends in 1995, he has designed and presented over one thousand (1,000) wine seminars, tastings, wine dinners and educational classes. John is widely recognized as one of the Inland Northwest’s leading wine authorities and educators.
MATT DOLAN
WINE BUYER
After working 30 years in the hospitality industry—from dishwasher at a local pancake house to Restaurant Manager/Beverage Director at Hotel Lusso in Spokane, Matt has developed three loves:
People • Food • Wine
Matt has over 25 years experience in the wine industry—working such roles as wine steward, wholesale distributor, wine club manager, wine educator and retail wine sales.
Tina Rupp
Tina has a passion for wine and loves big, bold California and Washington wines. She joined Vino in 2013 after working for Rosauers for 20 years as the pricing coordinator and wine steward. Most days you can find her in her office doing what she loves, making sure all the background details that keep Vino! running smoothly are handled although some days it can be a challenge keeping the ‘boys’ (John and Matt) from breaking the bank! She is also great at organizing fun van trips for small groups to Walla Walla for our wonderful customers.
Tom Hindle
Tom joined the Vino team in 2012 after working for World Market as the head of the Beverage Department for seven years and then put in a stint at Lone Canary as a ‘cellar rat’ for a year. Having a deep passion for wine, he loves wine from all over the world from minerally European whites to big Washington reds. His knowledge of customer’s names and palates at Vino along with his knowledge of wines on the sales floor make him an invaluable employee.
